Now I Know How Not To Publish A Book, I’m Writing Another One!
I’ve been so busy doing everything and nothing that I completely forgot that it’s a year ago, almost to the day, that my book, Get Out While You Can – Escape The Rat Race went on sale for the first time.
As book launches go, there have been better. Heavy snow meant that the “next day delivery” of the first print run turned into three long long (long) weeks of purgatory as I impatiently waited to get my hands on finished copies. Then even more snow, a mammoth delivery backlog, and something they call Christmas, meant it was a logistical nightmare getting copies to Amazon and the handful of bookshops that had agreed to stock it.
The moral of the story is that only an idiot would publish a book in December.
The good news was that I did finally have copies of the book and it was time for my fiendishly clever marketing campaign to go into operation. This centred around sending a copy of the book to 150 or so newspapers, magazines and small business websites that I thought might review it. Not only did I send the book with the obligatory press release, but every copy was lovingly wrapped in tartan wrapping paper and sent on its way with specially produced Get Out While You Can Christmas cards. Poor old John at my local Post Office even worked his dinner hour to make sure that they were all stamped and sent on their way.
But both John and I had wasted our time. To date, not one of those newspapers, magazines or small business websites has reviewed Get Out While You Can.
The moral of this story is that only an idiot would think that newspapers, magazines and small business websites would be interested in reviewing a book like Get Out While You Can. It’s not as if any of their readers would be interested in a book about escaping the rat race given the bouyant state of our economy.
It’s with some amazement then that I can report that Get Out While You Can has spent more than six months of 2011 in the Top 100 Bestsellers in Business, Finance & Law chart on Amazon.co.uk. As far as Kindle sales go, it’s rarely been out of the Top 10 books in the Small Business & Entrepreneurship category. Two landmarks that this idiot is very proud of and I am truly grateful to each and every person who has bought my book and who has helped spread the word about it.
Lessons learned, my forthcoming book, Why Do Only Fools And Horses Work? won’t be published in December. I’m working on it now and it’s on target to be available around April 2012. Hopefully the sun will be shining. I also won’t be sending out a single review copy. Can’t have John missing his dinner again.
If you enjoyed Get Out While You Can I’m hoping that you’ll love Why Do Only Fools And Horses Work? because it really does take the concept of developing a Plan B a big step further. I know from emails and the like that I have opened a lot of people’s eyes to a whole new way of looking at work and the opportunities that now exist as we move from the Industrial Age to the Information Age. With Get Out While You Can, I hoped to show you how to get to the starting line of what could be the race of your life. With Why Do Only Fools And Horses Work?, I want to help you get out of the starting blocks and send you hurtling towards the finish line.
The price of Why Do Only Fools And Horses Work? has still to be decided, but I’m determined to make sure that it goes on sale at Amazon.co.uk for less than a tenner and the Kindle version for less than a fiver.
And once Why Do Only Fools And Horses Work? is published, I’ll be updating Get Out While You Can, reducing its page count by 100 or so pages, and putting the new revised paperback edition on sale for under £10 too. So if you want the full fat first edition of Get Out While You Can, buy it now because I won’t be printing any more of them.
As 2011 draws to a close, I’d like to wish you a very prosperous 2012. Despite the current state of the world economy, we actually live in truly amazing times and opportunities to escape the rat race have never been greater. My New Year’s resolution will be to continue the Great Escape and I really hope you’ll be joining me on the frontline.
Get Out While You Can is available now from Amazon.
If you would like to be added to the mailing list for my forthcoming book, Why Do Only Fools And Horses Work?, send me an email (info@entrepreneur.co.uk) with Fools And Horses in the subject line. I won’t pester you with lots of messages, but I will let you know as soon as it becomes available.
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Greetings,
I read a book ‘how to write a book’ and found it useful, can you recommend a good place to look that explains publishing a book or the pitfalls to it, I have been writting a book but am not sure what to do next Al
My glass raises to you too for a happy christmas and 2012. I always knew the information age would catch up with the industrial age (i just need to look around in the place of my work to realise that), i just needed a book like GOWYC to slap me hard in the face and put me back on track.
I’m still running, need a cigarette though, but still running
Can’t recommend a book unfortunately, but the no risk way to self-publishing has to be via the Kindle:
https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin
Good luck with the new book, sure it will go great!. The best thing about GOWYC for me was you demonstrate different ways of making money online.
Therefore giving everyone plenty of options to have a go at. I don’t think i’ll be the most successful of online entrepreneur’s but with the help of this book (and your next one!), not to mention some hard graft i think the world will look a little different to me at some point in 2012.
This time next year rodder’s! LOL
All the best for crimbo and 2012 to you and the rest us. Here’s to the art of snow ball building!!
@ Justin The good news is that you don’t need to be the most successful of online entrepreneurs to be making money online. The most successful make billions. Merry Christmas!
Dear George
I recently purchased your GOWYC book and found it very fascinating and extremely helpful compared to the many books I’ve read so far.
However, I’m in page 380 and seem to be struggling in getting a logo for my new website!
I’ve downloaded the software Paint.NET (http://www.getpaint.net) as advised on the book, but wasn’t able to use it.Would you kindly be able to advise me where I can get a free download for logos – if there is one out there?
Many thanks beforehand.
Priscilla
@ Priscilla Really pleased GOWYC is proving of value to you.
For an easy and free way of creating a logo try:
http://www.logomaker.com/
I’ll add that link to the Tools page on the GOWYC website as it will be helpful for others too
http://www.gowyc.co.uk/tools.htm
Thanks very much for your swift reply.
I did manage to select one.However I am feel that I am not prepared to pay for it, as it is not the exact one which I would have prefered to use for my website. Could it be that I haven’t utilised the facility given fully?
I wouldn’t mind to pay if the web gave me an option to edit the image into something I’m comfortable with. I am more or less looking for this kind of a website if it exists at all.
Hope I am not being to picky.
Regards
@ Priscilla You don’t need to pay for it. You can download it for free.
On step 4 of the logo creation under additional services there is a button marked “free logo”. Click it and it gives you the code to paste into your website. Only downside is the free logo links back to Logo Maker.
Nathan Till suggested this on the GOWYC Facebook page:
http://fiverr.com/gigs/search?query=logo&x=0&y=0
Will cost you $5 for a logo there – with no linkback.
You can always Google “free logo” and see what you find if you want an alternative.
Thanks George, I did manage to download it in the end.
Thanks for the link as well. Am now carrying on reading the book.
Hope you had a peaceful Christmas!
hi
i came across this book on Amazon and when i started to read it ,the information blew me away
i suggest anyone who want’s to get out of the rat race , read this book and listen clearly to what this man is saying because you probably won’t hear it anywhere else !!
anyway can’t stop, must run i’ve gotta go build a future
george, hurry up with the sequel man !!
Hi George
I’ve registered with Affiliates4u and found a lot of helpful information.I am about to choose the Merchants to work with as an affiliate. I am a bit uncertain on how to go about doing this: Do I need to post for this request on the forum or there is an efficient way of getting this information? Also,is there a way of finding out how the individual Merchants’ products sells?
@william – thanks for the kind words – I hope 2012 great is an amazing year for you.
@Priscilla – A4U is THE forum for the affiliate marketing community and is a fantastic resource.
If you want members to suggest possible merchants to work with by all means post a message on the forum, but you can’t apply to join merchants via A4U. You have to do so via the relevant affiliate network (or if the merchant runs their own affiliate program, you will need to apply directly). See the chapter in my book about affiliate marketing for more details.
Not sure what you mean by the last sentence, but if you are looking for sales figures for individual products, I don’t think any merchant would release that information as it would be to the benefit their competitors.
Hi George,
Firstly, and completely unrelated, I too am from Glasgow and attended University of Glasgow. Zoology dept. tho’. In some strange way, that we have something in common makes me believe I may be able to do this. I have spent time and money over the years trying to find a way out – my own Plan B, and so far it’s been an expensive waste of time, so I have worked harder at Plan A, got another more responsible job and had more sleepless nights and less time with the people I care about as a result. I am I any better off? No. I just have higher petrol costs and more wear and tear on my car to get to work… So I really needed some light at the end of the tunnel and your book was it. I purchased it last week and have now finished reading it all the way thru’. I am quietly hopeful that I can build a Plan B. Thanks for the lifeline.